Fans of the Glasgow Clan ice hockey team made the festive season that little bit better for those less fortunate.
Over two games in a weekend, they donated piles of foodstuffs and lots of toys for distribution during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Clan organised a food bank donation appeal for their Elite League match at the Braehead Arena against Manchester Storm and, the following night, the club’s annual toy donation appeal took place against Dundee Stars at the same venue.
The food donations were given to Renfrewshire Foodbank and the East Renfrewshire Larder and the toys went to Renfrewshire Toy Bank.
Julie Edmiston, assistant manager at Renfrewshire Foodbank, told the Paisley Daily Express: “We’d like to thank Glasgow Clan and the home and away support for their generosity once again.
“We are completely overwhelmed with the amount of food and other essential items donated. This will help us support more people who are facing hunger and hardship at this time of year.
“Let’s work together to ensure no one goes hungry in Renfrewshire.”
Previously, the Paisley Daily Express reported on how demand for emergency food parcels in Renfrewshire has reached an all-time high as “horrifying” statistics reveal the extent of hardship across the area.
Figures released by the Trussell Trust show the need for support from its three Renfrewshire food banks rocketed by more than 20 per cent in the six months to September.
In total, 5,293 emergency food parcels were handed out at bases in Paisley, Johnstone and Renfrew.
The number of parcels being handed out for children has also reached a record high – with 1,172 packages designed specifically for those aged under 16.
Food bank manager Crystal Clayton said the Renfrewshire service was seeing more families than ever walk through its doors.
“The cost-of-living continues to be a massive factor in bringing people to the food bank,” she said. “The cost of everything, housing, food, utilities has all gone up but people’s income hasn’t. It just doesn’t add up.
“We are supporting more people with children than ever which is just not good enough; so much more could be done to lift children out of poverty, but there has to be a political will to do that.”
Lauren Roy-Sutherland from Renfrewshire Toy Bank thanked Clan and its supporters for their donation and said: “The Clan have supported us year after year and it’s never any less overwhelming.
“The fan base is always so incredibly generous and it means so much.
“This really is a local team supporting local children and we cannot thank the Clan enough for all they do to give back to their community. The donation was huge and will help so many families.”
And Dawn Murray, at East Renfrewshire Larder, added: “We’d like to thank everyone at the Clan for their very generous donations to the food bank – it’s very much appreciated.
“Thanks to the wonderful donations from Clan fans, we at East Renfrewshire Larder feel much more confident providing food parcels to our clients over the festive period, including lots of lovely treats.
“As a small independent food bank, we are extremely grateful for all the donations received from the Clan’s recent food drive. They will go a long way to support vulnerable families in our community over the festive period.”
Clan managing director Gareth Chalmers said: “Once again, our Purple Army of fans have shown their incredible generosity.
“The Clan is part of the local community and we always want to do what we can to support those who may need a helping hand – especially during the festive period.”
Don’t miss the latestRenfrewshire headlines –sign up to our free daily newsletter here